Plaintiff, a correction officer serving as a probationary appointee, appealed Supreme Court's ruling denying his petition challenging his termination from his employment prior to the completion of his maximum period of probation. The Appellate Division affirmed the lower court's decision.
Plaintiff had commenced this proceeding pursuant to CPLR Article 78 to review the appointing authority's decision to terminate Plaintiff's probationary employment. His petition, alleged, among other things, that the determination was arbitrary and capricious.
The Appellate Division, citing, Matter of Trager v Suffolk County, 185 AD3d 697, explained "An employee's probationary appointment may be terminated ... for any reason or no reason at all, so long as the termination was not in bad faith or for an improper or impermissible reason".* Further, the decision notes that "In demonstrating that administrative actions were made in bad faith ... the petitioner bears a heavy burden of proof, for which conclusory allegations and speculative assertions will not suffice".
Citing Matter of Trager v Suffolk County, 185 AD3d at 698, the decision notes that an appointing authority's discretion to terminate probationary employees is especially broad "in appointment of law enforcement officers, to whom high standards may be applied."
Noting that Plaintiff did not allege that his dismissal from his position was made in bad faith, the court said the record indicated that there was "a rational basis for the determination terminating the [Plaintiff's] probationary employment and that the [appointing authority's] determination was not arbitrary and capricious."
* In York v McGuire, 63 NY2d 760, the Court of Appeals set out the basic rule concerning the dismissal of probationary employees as follows: “After completing his or her minimum period of probation and prior to completing his or her maximum period of probation, a probationary employee can be dismissed without a hearing and without a statement of reasons, as long as there is no proof that the dismissal was done for a constitutionally impermissible purpose, or in violation of statutory or decisional law, or the decision was made in bad faith.”
Click HERE to access the Appellate Division's decision posted on the Internet.